Extra's Descent

The main reason why they called the monster-like creatures coming out of the rift 'Wraith Beasts', was because of the lack of general knowledge.

From their perspective, anything that doesn't resemble any ounce of humanity were nothing but Wraith Beasts or Mana Beasts.

However, from the perspective of someone who was near-omniscient, they were well aware of what those creatures actually were.

"Other races."

Whiiii—

Beyond space and time, a lone man with jet-black hair and pitch black eyes had been suppressing these so-called other races for as long as he could remember.

With his hands extended forward, an overwhelming force of mana served to push back the slit crack of space upon him.

A slender hand peeked out from it, however the slit crack began closing.

Gazing in front of him, an otherworldly creature with long silver hair and pointed-ears, registered in his peripheral vision.

The creature seemed to reach out to him, its expressions, as if it was asking for help.

But Jin paid no heed to it.

He was well aware of what the otherworldly creature was.

An Elf.

And the crack in front of him?

"...A gateway that crosses both our worlds and the elven realm."

While the term was never coined in his current world, Jin was exactly aware of it.

A smile creeped up on his face as a figure overlapped in his mind.

A man with pale-white hair and ice-blue eyes.

He knew as well what those otherworldly races were.

Finally, he had managed to close the narrow slit successfully.

"Shit."

It had taken him a significant amount of mana.

For years, he had been trying to suppress these other worlds.

He turned around.

Lifting his hand, a dark void-like portal materialized in front of him, and he entered it shortly after.

He emerged from the portal, and what greeted his sight was a dimly lit hall.

"Haaa…."

All of a sudden, his legs gave out and he slumped down on the ground, using the wall to support his aching back.

Looking at his arm, visible cracks were etched on his hand.

"Shit."

He cursed under his breath.

"I don't have much time."

In particular, he could estimate that he only had three years left.

Someone needed to take his mantle soon, and he had already found a candidate.

Just that, the person wasn't strong enough.

He didn't want to risk losing that sole person. Which was why he had given three years.

From what he remembered, in three years, the world would undergo a catastrophic event.

And that scenario was what he had been trying to prevent all these years.

But recently, he had made a blunder.

A crack that slipped under his watch.

From the other side of the continent, a crack appeared and tore open a rift. Slowly, the rift expanded and thus, he didn't have the amount of mana capacity to close it.

In other words, he was too late.

Due to a fixed set of laws that were set upon him, he was not allowed to enter these rifts.

But the same went for the others…

At that, another image overlapped in his mind.

Lucian Frost.

He was fairly weak in Jin's eyes. However, he was the absolute pinnacle of the world's standards.

If it were him, he might be able to close the rift and defeat whatever resides in it.

"There's no other way…"

If that rift expands even more, a monster would be unleashed on this world.

And that, he cannot allow.

He had already informed Lucian beforehand.

Under normal circumstances, Lucian would not even involve himself in Imperial Army matters.

But due to his instructions, Lucian made his appearance during the banquet, as well as the upcoming incursion.

"Can he do it?"

He could only hope so.

Brandon Locke was still too weak for him to rely on.

Tak. Tak.

From a distance, he could hear the sound of heels, clicking on the marbled floors of the halls.

Scanning, a figure's silhouette came into view.

Gradually, under the shade, her features became visible.

Pale wheat hair and hazel eyes.

Jin was well aware of who she was.

The Second Seat, Ciel.

As soon as Ciel's gaze met his, her eyes widened.

Shortly after, her voice reached his ears.

"...These days, whenever a portal opens, I get paranoid."

"Haha."

Jin stifled a laugh.

"I don't blame you. This timeline is different after all."

"Is that a good thing?"

"As long as it's not the same… What else could be worse?"

"No idea. I've never seen the others."

"Fair."

He lowered his head and began to ponder.

All the pieces have been set in place.

Though he was unsure how things would unfold from this point forward, it didn't matter.

Anything.

Just anything.

From setting up random variables, to actively making his appearance here and there.

But truth be told, he didn't know what he was doing.

Just that, things had to be different.

If it would make things worse early on, then he could only accept that fact.

"As long as things are different…"

Then surely, the ending must be different?

For the better or for the worse.

This was his last chance.

"So…?"

He raised his head as soon as he heard her voice.

"How's his progression?"

"Better than I expected."

"That's surprising."

"A lot better than me when I was starting out, at least."

"You're the weakest, after all."

At her comment, Jin's lips pulled up.

"That's true."

Approaching him, Ciel sat down beside him and gazed up.

"And what about the other one?"

"Even better than before."

"Oh? How did that happen?"

"Because of the latter's influence."

"I see."

Ciel turned her head to look at him. But Jin didn't look back as he continued looking down.

"Brandon Locke and Raven Blackheart, and… who's the other one again?"

"Amelia Constantine."

"Right, her."

"She's not the same as us. But she's the closest."

"I honestly thought it would be Lucian."

"Nah."

Lifting his body, Jin stood up.

"But he's the best one we got."

And held out his hand for Ciel to grab.

Accepting his gesture, she stood up.

Shortly after, she asked.

"What's next?"

"Same as always."

Looking at him, she frowned.

"Don't you feel bad for them?"

"Sure, but…"

Jin shook his head.

"It's either them, or us. I can't have the Sovereigns descending this early on."

"You really can't stop them all by yourself?"

"If I could, I would've done that eons ago."

"And what about Brandon Locke? Could he do it?"

"Maybe. He's the only one who can ascend through the ranks."

Pinching her chin, Ciel gazed up.

"Can't you just take his fragment?"

"That's impossible. Not his."

"What makes him so different from you and the others?"

"It's simple."

He looked at her as she looked back.

"He's the origin, and…"

He smiled.

"Our Sovereign."

She seemed taken aback as her eyes widened.

But shortly after, she frowned.

"Still. Don't you feel bad for him?"

"Him?"

"Brandon."

"Ah."

The original Brandon.

The child with the most talent in pure mana manipulation. Even more profound than Jin's.

It got to the point where the child's mana was too unstable for him to control.

In exchange for combat prowess, the child had abundant knowledge of the world and its structure.

Jin was glad to have met him in this progression.

"It couldn't be helped."

He shook his head.

"His body is the only one capable of handling the fragment. Plus, everything was to his volition."

"Do you miss him?"

"...Who can say?"

After all, that child…

He was with Jin throughout all progressions.

And in each progression, it ended in the world's destruction.

No matter what, it could never be avoided.

"He sacrificed himself. How can I not respect my old friend's wishes?"

"Old?"

Ciel laughed.

"He's way younger than us."

"To me, I've been friends with him for as long as I can remember."

The conversation ended there.

Jin walked forward as Ciel followed closely.

"How are the other seats?"

Gazing ahead, she responded.

"We're working to stop the syndicate's plans."

"Ah, that."

"You make it sound so simple."

Ciel frowned, and her cheeks puffed at his nonchalant tone.

"You know as well as I do what they're doing."

"Sure. But compared to the scale of what I've been dealing with, it's nothing but child play."

"Then can't you just…"

Snap!

She snapped her finger.

"And poof. They're gone."

"Hm…"

Jin pinched his chin.

"Maybe I should. It's been troubling Brandon after all."

"Then…"

"Let's pay a visit."

Ciel's eyes lit up, and Jin extended his hand forward.

Gradually, a small portal materialized.

However…

"Huh?"

He felt his mana dwindling, and the portal wouldn't expand.

Perplexed, Ciel asked.

"What's wrong?"

"...."

He didn't respond.

No, he couldn't.

Thud!

His knees gave up, and he slumped down on the ground, grabbing his head.

"Jin!"

"....!"

"....!"

Rumble… Rumble…

All of a sudden, the halls began to shake intensely. Debris started falling off the ceiling.

"What's happening?"

She yelled.

"Hey, Jin. What's going on?!"

"Haha."

Despite the throbbing pain in his head, and his body weakening, Jin stifled a laugh.

"...It's way ahead of schedule."

"What?"

"The calamity."

An event that was supposed to take place in three years.

And yet certain variables had altered the course of events.

Jin was aware of which variable it was.

The current Brandon Locke's appearance in this progression.

Did he make a mistake?

No.

That shouldn't be the case.

As long as…

…Things were different.

That's all that matters.

If the event was pushed ahead of schedule, then it must've been for the best.

"They're coming."

However, Jin knew what he had to do next.

Delay the Sovereigns' descent.

Rumble… Rumble…

The halls continued to shake intensely.

With a hoarse voice, he called out to her.

"Ciel."

"What?"

"Find him."

"What about you?"

"This is goodbye."

"Huh? Jin—Wait!"

She reached out, but it was to no avail.

A small portal materialized below Jin and sucked him whole.

Whiii—

Emerging from the portal, Jin fell on a void-like space.

The main reason for his instability, a few seconds ago, was because of the mana's unstable fluctuation.

Though, it affected others, in which their capabilities were boosted, for a system user, it messed with their system.

System.

But as Jin would like to call it…

"Sovereign's Will."

The reason for the system's unreliable statistics was because of the will's influx.

Though, for Jin, he was at a bottleneck.

Stuck in the SSS+ category.

"But not him."

Brandon Locke.

That child's will would shoot up in numbers, whenever a rift opened up.

And most likely, because of him…

The calamity was pushed ahead of schedule.

Jin knew that there was no stopping it.

Closing the rift was out of his capabilities, as much as he hated to admit it.

And so, he could only do what he could.

He gazed ahead.

A rift tore open the space around him. A blinding light protruded from the rift.

"...!"

And a hand extended forward.